Friday, November 27

fall-ing more in love..

We've been in our new home for a few months now, and I can say I'm seriously loving it!  It seems like I blinked and fall has flown by.  I thought I might need to do a quick recap of one of my favorite seasons before I start posting "first Christmas in the new house" pictures.  We're currently prepping for our first time hosting the big family Thanksgiving. More on that to come, for now -  here is how our September, October, and a dash of November have been around our new home.
 
I went a little pumpkin crazy at the farmers market, and finally got the mum I'd been daydreaming about since I first saw them on display at Lowe's.


Since we don't have a fireplace in the new house, I've been displaying my "mantle wreaths" using a wreath holder set on my buffet by the door. 
A little more fall decorations on the dining table.  Thank goodness for non-breakables.  Somehow the felt pumpkins end up all over the house, even though house rules state "No kitties on the table!"
I did a little baking for a dinner party or two.  This is hummingbird cake, a bit of a Southern tradition.

I even pulled out my super tall cake cover for this one.  It makes the bundt look so TINY!
We've kept the kitchen pretty busy, and Adam's learned his way around the smoker.  I'm getting spoiled to him handling the protein preparation for our big gatherings.. it's working out well!
We spent a day in the woods, carving pumpkins...
Adam really enjoyed this version of carving.  
I finally got our bedroom unpacked, as well as most of the rooms put together.

The craft room is quick becoming a kitten favorite.. it gets amazing sunlight in the morning.

But they still love my #workfromhome Wednesdays, because it means they can play in the office while I work.  I love having their cat tower in my office -  it means they spend more time in there on my work from home days.

We had a few trick-or-treaters, but not nearly as many as at our last house.  That's fine with us though.. more chocolate for the homeowners.  

My pumpkin/mum obsession continued and I managed to capture this pretty butterfly/moth? one day while watering the plants.
We had an adventure one night when the power cut out.  We were in the guest bedroom, discussing where the bed should go -  when we heard a loud boom and the house went black.  It was a Friday night and Adam had to work all weekend, so we thankfully had our phones in hand ready to tuck in for an early night.  Our plans changed quickly.  Other than our phones, there was no light in the house.  Flashlights still had not been unpacked, and if they had been.. I'm not sure where the batteries would be.  We ended up sitting on the back porch listening to the emergency vehicles through the trees. Someone had run off the road and hit a power pole behind the house.  
Thankfully the next morning we had power, but not without this inventive solution from our local power company. (Can you see the power pole in pieces?)

We still had more unpacking to do.. with help from the kittens.

But thankfully, it's feeling more like home every day.

It was a journey, but I love coming home to our house.  Sometimes I just walk around in awe of where we started.  I'm glad I took pictures along the way.  It's crazy to think that this time a year ago.. we hadn't even found this neighborhood.  We were looking at house plans, but our home wasn't on the market.  It all happened..

in less than one year.

Wow.

Here's to many more fun adventures!!



Monday, November 23

heart of the home..

I knew from the very beginning of deciding to build that having a kitchen I loved was a driving force.  I knew once we started seeing everything come together in our home, that the kitchen was becoming one of my favorite rooms.  It's a space where we really worked to bring in our love of all things shiny and merge that with a level of comfort and function that any heart of the home deserves.

So please indulge me as I share the glamour shots of one of my favorite spaces in our home:


At night, when we're settled in, the glow from the under cabinet lighting is perfection.
I had to have a little Disney sprinkled in there somewhere.

Curious about what's in our kitchen?  I've included a source list below because I always like to know where people found things for their homes.


Appliances:
Cooktop -  GE 36" Ceramic Electric with 5 burners
Hood -  Zephyr 36" Savona in Stainless
Dishwasher -  Bosch 800 Plus Series
Refrigerator -  Samsung Counter-depth 4-door with Cool Select Plus
Ice Maker - Scotsman residential nugget ice machine SCN60
Ovens - KitchenAid double electric with convection on top

Other fun stuff:
Cutting board -  Real Simple, Bed Bath & Beyond
Knife block -  Kohl's (Black Friday last year!)
Crock - Bed, Bath, & Beyond
Utensils -  Bed, Bath, & Beyond and Pampered Chef
Spoon Rest -  Disney World!
Salt Pig - olive wood from Amazon (.com, not the river)
Salt and Pepper grinders -  Target
Oil and Vinegar carafes -  Target


So far, I'm loving the kitchen.. and just wish I had more free time to bake!